Marketing and Security Leaders Need to Collaborate to Safeguard and Grow Brand Trust, Says CMO Council and KPMG

New Research Finds 79% of CMOs Believe the Marketing-Security Partnership Is Extremely or Very Important to Acquire, Maintain and Secure Customer Data for Competitive Advantage

The CMO Council, in partnership with KPMG, announced the release of a new report, entitled “Marketing & Data Security: The Unlikely Brand Building Partnership,” examining the marketing and security relationship and how marketing leaders can preserve brand reputation amid rising data privacy and security concerns.

The report found that 79% of CMOs believe the marketing-security partnership is extremely or very important to acquire, maintain and secure customer data for competitive advantage. Yet a third of marketing-security partnerships are not collaborating effectively.

This represents an opportunity for marketers and security pros to deepen their collaboration by overcoming hurdles such as misaligned priorities, inadequate understanding of roles, lack of communication, etc.

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Key findings of the report include:

• 79% of marketing leaders said the marketing-security partnership is extremely (44%) or very (35%) important to acquire, maintain and secure customer data for competitive advantage
• 33% of marketing-security partnerships are not collaborating effectively
• 84% of marketing leaders said AI and machine learning initiatives pose a growing security threat
• 32% of less collaborative marketing-security partnerships communicate only during a crisis

“A strong marketing-security partnership preserves brand reputation in an environment rife with privacy concerns, proving a strong security commitment can also help build the brand,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “Conversely, a weak partnership can lead to data disasters which will erode brand reputation as well as customer and employee trust.”

Unlocking a modern marketing strategy requires alignment and collaboration between marketing, security and other C-suite peers. To strengthen the CMO-CISO partnership, CMOs should:

• Understand the widespread impact that the marketing-security partnership has on your business, both internally and externally
• Get granular when determining what efforts to take to ensure data protection
• Prepare to be at the forefront of AI by acutely examining your data collection, storage and usage across functions
• Invest in training and education to improve understanding of roles and responsibilities between marketing and security to make communicating easier and more frequent

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“While marketing departments want to use AI, customer behavioral data, and the Internet of Things to personalize customer interactions, they pose significant security risks,” said Bret Sanford-Chung, Managing Director, US Marketing Consulting, KPMG LLP. “However, marketing and security can preserve brand reputation, ensure data-driven decision-making, and deliver better customer experiences by collaborating on data security and marketing strategies. It is important to invest in training and education to improve understanding and communication between marketing and security.”

Orson Lucas, Principal, Cyber Security Services, KPMG LLP, said, “The research highlights the critical need for collaboration between marketing and security leaders in order to safeguard and grow brand trust. By overcoming hurdles and deepening their partnership, marketers and security professionals can effectively address rising data privacy and security concerns, preserving brand reputation and ensuring competitive advantage.”

Methodology

The report is based on a survey of over 256 marketing leaders across industries and geographies. Additionally, we conducted in-depth interviews with executives from Teradata, The Doctor’s Company, PSEG Long Island, Trustwave, and others.